The Lambs Are Here!

The due dates I have listed are based on modern breeds of sheep gestation period.  Icelandic sheep can be up to a week earlier about 141 days.

Sundy,  April 12th,  Easter

Our first lamb and AI lamb of lambing season has finally arrived!

I noticed Bjork trying to isolate herself from the rest of the flock during morning chores.  She didn't seem interested in eating hay although she did eat a little grain with the rest of the young ladies.  I suspected that she had decided to have her lamb and she couldn't have picked a lovlier day, it was a warm and sunny 56 degrees.  I put her in a pen by herself so the big girls could push her around.  Bjork went into labor late morning  while Tom and I were cleaning up brush and down trees in their lot.  We checked her again around 1:00 pm and saw two little white feet out.  As she pushed you could just make out a black nose, how exciting a black spotted Langidalur lamb!  I was guessing it was a ram lamb by the size of the feet and thought we might need to pull this one. 

Tom and I went to the house to get some rags and the bottle of iodine.  When we came back out, still no progress so we decided to go in.  Bjork was a little skittish and nervous so I had Tom hold her while I worked on the lamb.  She may have been able to deliver it on her own, but I didn't want to take any chances with this one so I gave a few timely tugs as she was pushing and that's all it took, out splashed a very lovely black spotted EWE lamb!  Bjork went right to work cleaning her off, she was a very attentive first-time mother and as Tom said "it's like she read the book".  In no time the lamb was standing and looking for a teat.  Once she found it she didn't quite get the sucking part of it after she had it in her mouth.  We decided to go into the house and just leave them a lone for awhile.  An hour later I went back out to check her and still no sucking.  I decided to get a bottle ready just in case we needed to feed her.  Tom and I went back out to milk Bjork and try to force feed the baby.  Of course when we got there she was up and nursing, all was well.  Beautiful black and white spotted ewe lamb at 140 days, 9 pounds.

Happy Easter!

April 18th, Saturday

Our second AI lambs by Mokollur

5:30 am,  I made my morning check knowing Josephine would lamb today, but when?.  My four year old Niece Helena was staying with us for a few day hoping to see some "lambs get borned" so she said.  I thought she might be in luck today.  Josephine was restless, tail up, pacing and turning circles in her stall.  I went back to the house thinking she would certainly have her lambs before my niece was awake.   I had some coffee a little breakfast, checked Josephine again about 8:30 am still no lambs.  By then Helena was up and about, I kept checking Josephine and still no lambs.  It was 11:30 before she lay down, Helena went in to see the lamb get born and Josephine immediately got up and started snorting and stopping her feet at her.  Our sheep aren't used to seeing little kids and although Helena was as quite as she could be and stood exactly where I told her to, Josephine looked at her and reacted like she was a strange dog.  We all decided to go to the house and give Josephine her privacy.  After lunch and a nap, we all went out and there were two new Mokollur lambs, a white ewe and a moorit ram lamb.  Even though she didn't get to see them be born, Helena was thrilled to see the new baby lambs. 

April 20th, Monday

It's Twins!  Our first lambs from our farm ram Morris and yearling ewe Snoja.

I had been making my early morning checks for lambs and could tell by the way Snoja was acting that it was going to be sometime  this morning.  Snoja is a very large elegant looking ewe with big frame and long legs, but she didn't look  big enough  around to be having twins which for a yearling ewe is just fine with me. 

I kept checking her throughout the morning and finally she lay down and had a lovely little ewe lamb.  A very attentive new mother, she had her little ewe lamb all cleaned off and nursing.  I dipped the lambs navel with iodine and almost when to the house when she started giving birth to a second lamb, this time standing up.  I jumped into the pen just in time to catch the lamb before it hit the ground, a little ram lamb.  We could hardly believe that she had two lambs in her.  Snoja went right to work and cleaned off the second lamb and had him nursing in no time, just like an old pro.  You have to love a yearling ewe that can do that with a single let a lone twins!  Beautiful Mori grand-babies. 

April 22, Wednesday

Wow, breeding ewe lambs is certainly not for wimps!

Snoja sure makes it look easy but with Lilja it was another matter.  I debated last fall whether or not to breed her.  She was right on the line for my size requirement, but in the end I decided to line breed her Valur.  I was excited about the cross but I also selected him because even though he is a large ram, Valur tends to produce a little smaller lamb at birth, making them much easier for a first-time mom to deliver.

I had Lilja penned already waiting for her to deliver.  She was so stressed out, pacing around and trying to get out of her pen.  I thought she would never settle down.  Late afternoon she lay down, went into labor, finally giving birth to a little solid moorit ewe lamb.  She looked at it not really quite knowing what to do or think of it.  To my relief she began to lick and clean it.  She was still so freaked out by this wobbly wet thing in her stall that she started to paw at it to make it stand to nurse and then once up she would head butt it back down.  This sure was discouraging to me, but she was stomping her feet at us so she was clearly protective of it.  I decided to leave them alone and let nature take it's coarse, hoping that her mothering instincts would kick in.  I went back to the house for an hour, then back out to check on them, much to my relief they were fine.  Lilja didn't quite have the nursing thing down so we decided to help out and hold her so the little lamb could nurse.

I checked on them a few times that night and next morning to be sure they were doing alright.  They were just fine, the little ewe lamb was nursing and Lilja was standing perfectly still for her.  Lilja was maybe just a little imature to be bred last fall, but with a little help is a wonderful and protective, proud new mother. 

Friday, May 1, 2009

Happy May Day!  Mora delivered a beautiful solid black ewe lamb by AI ram Orvar.